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Citi Simplicity Card Offers 0% Interest, No Late Fees and No Penalty APR

The king of low interest credit cards, the Citi Simplicity has it all: an industry-leading 18 months of 0% interest on both purchases and transfers, no late fees or penalty APR if you miss a payment, and a lower-than-usual balance transfer fee. Whether you’re looking to get rid of existing debt or make a big purchase that you can take your time paying off, the Simplicity is an ideal choice.

Citi Simplicity® Card

Pros

Cons

Sign-up Bonus

0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 12.99% - 22.99% based on your creditworthiness.

Annual Fee

$0*

Intro APR Promotions

0%* on purchases and balance transfers for 18 months*

APR

APR: 12.99% - 22.99%* (Variable)

Card Details

0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 12.99% - 22.99% based on your creditworthiness.

There is a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

No late fees - Ever

No penalty rate - Ever

No annual fee - Ever

Save time when you call with fast, personal help, 24 hours a day.

Low Rates, No Fees, No “Gotcha” Penalties

The Citi Simplicity offer sets itself apart from the pack in a few key ways. Most of these are features you won’t find on any credit cards not offered by Citibank, and there’s not a card that offers all of them together:

0% interest on balance transfers for 18 months: For those carrying balances on high-rate cards, this will inevitably save them a ton of month in interest charges. Even after the 3% transfer fee, this is a huge savings. And outside of Citibank’s arsenal, you won’t find another card offering no interest for almost two years.

0% interest on purchases for 18 months: This might even be a bigger deal, because most balance transfer offers are meant to lure you in with low interest promises, while charging you high rates on anything you buy in the meantime. With the Simplicity, however, you avoid paying interest on anything until the promo period is over.

No late fees: Have you ever been a few days late on a payment and gotten hit with a $35 fee? It hurts. Most banks will try to hit you with the legal maximum for even the most minor infringements, and only credit union cards ever waive these fees. Well, now we can say “only credit union and Citibank cards.”

No penalty APRs: The only thing that might hurt worse than a $35 late fee is the sky-high APR that most banks will start charging you on purchases, to penalize you for your discretions. Most of the time, these rates are as high as 29.99%. This is another area where Citibank is bucking the trend and acting a bit more like a consumer-friendly credit union.

Please Guys, Keep the Competition Coming

With the battle for prime credit card customers in full swing, most card companies have chosen to fight with rewards and signing bonuses. There’s the up-front cash payouts like the Chase Freedom; the huge frequent flyer payouts like the British Airways credit card 100,000 mile offer; and new international traveler perks like those being offered by the American Express Platinum. But Citibank, on the other hand, seems to have taken a different approach, with the Citi Simplicity being the most recent example.

Instead of competing primarily for the frequent flyers, the rewards hackers, and the big spenders, Citi seems to be focusing on those who are battling the Debt Demon and need a few months or a couple of years to pay off the load. And just as importantly, Citi seems to be eschewing complicated rewards tiers and redemption options in favor of offering simplicity (hence the name).

I just got an promotion for this card in the mail offering 21 months of 0% interest, and only 11.99% thereafter! I don’t know if the 21 months are available to everyone, but I think this card just got a little better.

Michael Hendrickson

Did you have a promo code or anything to get 21 months?

http://www.nerdwallet.com/ NerdWallet

Hi Michael,

No promo code required! This 21-month deal is just a feature of the promotion — no smoke and mirrors here.

CN

How did you get 21 months when the promotion states 18 months?

http://www.nerdwallet.com/ NerdWallet

Hi CN,

It was 21 months until recently — these super-great promotions tend to be transitory.

Typically, the Simplicity will give you 18 months of 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers, which is still among the best in the business.

Paula Partridge Wilkerson Reci

I have the 21 month to but it is a little different..rewards and late fees the 18 month has no rewards and no late fees ever…so I went with the 18 month…

LeAnna

I just need some clarification. I am looking for a card with no interest for 18 months in order to have a “cushion” for paying my wedding off. I won’t have a balance to transfer to the card, I’m only looking to put new purchases on the card. Is this an option, or do I have to transfer a balance first? Thank you!

jennyct

See if you can deposit the money in your checking account. Some credit cards will allow that… Then you can get the intro rate. The only difference is that some banks charge a higher rate on the balance left after the intro period.

glen pierce

Slate sounded good but they have a limit of $15,000 transfer amount for the zero trf fee. I need $17,500. I don’t want to owe $2,500 on my personal line of credit. I want to trf all to the slate card. So i guess i will not do it.

Missy and Mike

Question: I was approved instantly online for $13,000. We need the card to purchase airline tickets that are at all time low. How long did it take you guys to receive your credit card in the mail?? We need this card ASAP to purchase these tickets before the fare increases.

Amanda Owens

i was approved for 18 mo and 17.99 there after but i see there was a promo for 21mo and 11.99 sooooo now i wanna cut my card up lol

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